In order to strengthen the muscles all around your foot and ankle joint, you’ve got to do a variety of different types of movements in a variety of directions. There are slow strength exercises like calf raises, and ballistic ones like unilateral and bilateral hops, as well as isometric ones to help control your strength at different end ranges of motion. There’s no ONE right way to train below the knee, rather a myriad of tools to help you build a solid, durable joint. Here’s another combo to add to your toolbox that you can do anywhere: [Read more…]

I’m not shopping right now (there’s nothing I need), but if anybody needs anything for themselves or for a gift, check out these things currently sitting in my various shopping carts strewn about the internet:

I’ll be coming to Louisville for Thanksgiving in November and am excited to be staying for an extended visit! I’m running two 4 week TRX fitness programs at my old stomping grounds while I’m home. Both sessions will start the week of November 26th and end December 20th… perfect for between the holidays.

TRX Lite:

A 4 week TRX class that runs a little later in the morning and is a little less intense. This class will be perfect for those easing back into fitness after a long break, pre/post natal moms, or anybody that hates early workouts and burpees. Childcare will also be provided for an extra fee!

TRX Bootcamp:

A 4 week early morning class that will build strength & endurance, burn some serious calories, and will set you up for hours of EPOC (google it). This session is for those who need to work out early and want the most bang for their buck. We’ll work hard, but it won’t be miserable. Promise.

If you feel like you’ve lost your confidence, you can get it and your sense of power back. It can be rough feeling like you’ve had power then lost it, so here are a few things you can do to feel on top of your game again, in this order: [Read more…]

Live and learn, that’s what we all do. The smartest among us are the ones that actually use those lessons to better themselves as they age, instead of repeating the same mistakes over and over through the years. In an effort to remind myself of what I’ve learned over the years, I’m laying it out here to look back on from time to time.

I did a similar post on my 29th birthday five years ago. I thought I’d continue with sharing what I’ve learned a year before the usual landmark birthday year. In no particular order: [Read more…]

I never start a new book without finishing another one… until now. For whatever reason I’ve had complete lack of self control when it comes to reading this summer. There are so many great books out there! I’m reading about 6 right now* and this shit is crazy. I want the ability to speed read so I can get through all of them.

Last fall, before we went to Asia, I tried checking out lots of e-books from my library’s app for the long flight, but everything I wanted to read was on hold. I put holds on about 10 different books (the max allowed) and they’re all becoming available NOW. Three have landed in my app this week alone. You only get them for a week, so I’ve had to make the choice to send some back so somebody else can get to them and put myself back on the wait list. Because there are so many people waiting on them, you can’t extend the loans on some of these.

Here’s what I’m currently reading (links to all in the photos) and hopefully you can get through faster than I can… with a little sense of focus: [Read more…]

Anybody else see exercises or poses online that they wish they could do but can’t? I have probably 10 or so that I try sporadically – handstands, crazy pull-up variations, mobility drills, etc – but I know I’ll only achieve them if I focus on ONE at a time, instead of 10… So for the month of August (and a little into September) I’m planning on nailing the Dancer Pose variation with both arms.

In the dance world, we call this a Scorpion, but in yoga it’s called King Dancer or Natarajasana (yogis, please tell me if this is incorrect). Whatever it’s called, I can’t do it and have never been able to grab my foot behind my head… but now I’m determined.

Each week I’ll be posting what I’m doing to achieve this. It’s going to take a mixture of back strengthening, front side stretching – especially in the quads and hip flexors – and thoracic spine/overhead shoulder mobility for me to get this, so the videos will vary.

I’ll be posting the exercises and my progress on my Instagram and Facebook pages. Follow along with the hashtag #flashdancerchallenge and DM me your photos if you want to join in!

In an effort to cut back on all the plastic in my life, I’ve recently purchased my first shampoo and conditioner bars! (Shoutout to my friend Leslie who mentioned these to me.)

These are similar to soap bars and they seriously cut back on plastic use in the container, but also the fuel used in shipping. Think about how much lighter it is to ship a tiny bar instead of several full bottles of shampoo!

I was a bit skeptical at first – thinking it would be like washing your hair with regular soap (and if you’ve ever done that, you know it DOES NOT WORK) -but I was pleasantly surprised. Here’s what I thought about my first week using these bars…